Toy News Tuesday: Getting The Band Back Together

Welcome to our first all new Toy News Tuesday of 2017! We’re the one weekly column right here on ScienceFiction.com where we seek out all of the awesome news you need to know about any announcements and cool happenings in the toy industry and put them all in one easy to find place for you! It’s a whole new year and we’ve got quite a lot to look forward to in the coming months! We’ve already seen a ton of new reveals late last year for products we will see hitting the shelves during the next few months, but as always many companies are kicking the new year off right with some fantastic new releases and announcements! There’s no time to waste, dive headfirst into the Toy News for the week of January 3rd, 2017!

Putty Patrol Retooled For 2017

With each passing week that brings us closer to the release of Lionsgate’s big budget film franchise reboot of the ‘Might Morphin Power Rangers‘, we see more and more of what kind of character design updates we can expect to see from the film. So far we’ve seen the new Megazord, Rita Repulsa, Goldar, and even the Power Rangers themselves! This week we got our first look at the retooled Putty Patrol designs for the new film thanks to a listing on ToysRUs.com!

These new Putty’s look to be following suite with the rest of the new film’s redesigns and going for an almost entirely original look! Thankfully, unlike most of the redesigns that seem to be alienating fans of the original series, this time the new look actually looks to be a pretty cool update to the classic Putty design. They look like they may not be made of clay in this new version, but rather of wet dirt from a construction zone of some sort (hence the grate that appears in the figure seen here). The entire ‘Mighty Morphin Power Rangers’ movie toyline was street dated to start hitting stores this week, so keep your eyes peeled for this new Putty figure and the rest of the Rangers!

Treat Yourself To A Little Something From Diamond Select

The holiday season has just wrapped up and many of us collectors are finding ourselves strapped down with a bunch of fantastic gift cards that we need to spend! So the obvious place to spend them is wherever you can get the latest Diamond Select Toys products! Check out these great new offerings from Diamond Select Toys that are hitting stores now!

Ghostbusters Slimer Ceramic Cookie Jar

A Diamond Select Toys release! Got some leftover Christmas cookies you don’t know what to do with? Give them to Slimer! The food-loving ghost made famous by the Ghostbusters feature films and animated series is now a ceramic cookie jar! Measuring approximately 10” tall, this class 5 apparition is quite solid, so you can’t just stick your hand into his stomach and grab what you want, but a removable lid will grant you access to whatever Slimer recently ate. Packaged in a full-color box. (Item #AUG162572, SRP $44.99)

Predator Minimates 2-Packs Series 3 Asst.

A Diamond Select Toys release! The hunt continues! The Predator Minimates series returns with another assortment of figures based on the classic action films Predator, Predator 2 and Predators. In this series, Thermal Dutch faces off with the classic Predator, Muddy Royce faces off with a Cloaked Berserker, the Falconer Predator teams up with the Warrior Predator, and a rare, one-per-case 2-pack features a Cloaked Falconer! Each 2-inch Minimates mini-figure features 14 points of articulation as well as fully interchangeable parts and accessories. Each 2-pack is packaged on a full-color blister card! (Item #AUG162565, $9.99/ea.)

“We’re Like Kevin Bacon!”

Marvel’s highly anticipated sequel to their surprise 2014 blockbuster hit ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy‘ is hitting theaters in just a few months, and the geek world is in a frenzy of excitement about it! Not wanting to miss out on the hype, the team at Hot Toys posted a teaser image for what looks like an entire wave of new ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2’ 1:6th scale figures as a part of their “happy new year” message earlier this week! The image shows us brand new figures of Starlord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket Raccoon, and Baby Groot in their new ‘GOTG Vol. 2’ outfits,and boy do they look snazzy! It’s worth noting in particular that the Hot Toys 1:6th scale Drax figure from the first film has still not yet hit the retail market, so the fact that people are seeing a second version being announced already has people clamoring for the version from the first film even more! Hopefully Hot Toys will release further information on these a little closer to the film’s release date. The release from Hot Toys is below:

“It is good to once again be among friends.”

As we celebrate the new year and make resolutions, let’s join up with Star-Lord’s gang of unlikely superheroes and gear up for this summer’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which promises an epic new adventure, an awesome new mixtape, and some exciting new collectibles from Hot Toys!

Plus 2017 is set to be another big year for movie fans, with a slew of highly anticipated movies opening in the months ahead. We can’t wait to show you the new offerings we have planned for the year, so remember to stay tuned!

Happy New Year everyone!

Did You Think They Forgot This One?

While the hit ‘Batman: Arkham Knight’ video game came out way back in summer 2015, Hot Toys is just now finally bringing us the dark knight that we deserve with their new 1:6th scale ‘Batman: Arkham Knight’ Batman figure! This newly announced figure is based on the iconic hero’s character design from the ‘Arkham Knight’ game, and comes jam packed with a small arsenal of game specific accessories! Check out the full release from Hot Toys below:

Batman: Arkham Knight – 1/6th scale Batman Collectible Figure

“I am vengeance! I am the night! I am Batman!” With a tremendous fan base for the Batman Arkham series, Batman: Arkham Knight has become one of the fasting selling game titles upon its release and earned numerous positive reviews from fans and game reviewers around the globe! In the highly acclaimed Batman: Arkham Knight game, Gotham City is under a terrifying threat as Scarecrow returns to unite the super criminals of Gotham and destroy Batman forever! To take down these dangerous villains, Batman is donning an upgraded Batsuit with new gadgets to save the city he is sworn to protect.

Today, Hot Toys is very excited to officially introduce the incredible 1/6th scale collectible figure of Batman from this highly acclaimed game! The collectible figure is expertly crafted based on the appearance of Batman from the game featuring a newly developed masked head sculpt with interchangeable neutral and angry expression lower faces, a highly detailed and meticulously tailored multi-layer and multi-texture Batsuit (V8.03), a number of Batman gadgets including Batarangs, grapnel gun, disruptor, REC gun, freeze grenade and more! This amazing Batman collectible figure will deserve a spot in your great collection!

Vote For Cobblepot!

We have known for quite some time that NECA was working on a 1:4th scale figure of Danny Devito as The Penguin from the 1992 Tim Burton masterpiece, ‘Batman Returns’. Now, with very little word regarding this figure having hit in months, it is finally available for purchase! Currently NECA’s 1:4th scale Penguin figure is available on the official NECA Ebay and Amazon stores. You can expect to start seeing it at actual retail stores later this month!

This election season, vote Oswald Cobblepot for Mayor! This all-new version of the Penguin from Batman Returns is ready to hit the campaign trail like a ton of bricks.

The 1/4 scale action figure features the likeness of actor Danny DeVito, whose memorable performance as the twisted Oswald Cobblepot in the 1992 movie still defines the character. The fully poseable figure stands 15″ tall and features synthetic hair and a movie-authentic sculpt. Penguin comes with an all-new removable fabric coat, removable top hat, “Cobblepot for Mayor” mini-poster, monocle, cigarette in holder and half-eaten fish accessories.

Loaded with extraordinary detail, this figure is a must-have for Batman fans!

Mezco Has Such Sights To Show You!

The team at Mezco Toys has revealed Pinhead from the ‘Hellraiser‘ film series as the latest horror icon to join their stylized 6″ vinyl figure line! This particular figure is based on Pinhead’s appearance in ‘Hellraiser III: Hell On Earth’, and includes several film specific accessories including the Puzzlebox, a knife tool, and a few interchangeable arms and hands. This figure is due to hit stores in early summer 2017! Check out the full release from Mezco below:

The Lament Configuration has been solved and Pinhead has been summoned! The leader of the Cenobites ascends into our realm as an all new deluxe styled figure, in our signature super-deformed style.

Pinhead features his trademark pins in his head, crafted of real metal. Pinhead has eight points of articulation for an extra dimension of posability, making him one of our most articulated figures in this format.

Pinhead comes with two sets of arms and two interchangeable sets of hands (four hands total) enabling for a multitude of poses and play options. He’s accessorized with the Lament Configuration (his infamous puzzle cube) and the unholy instruments of torture, which can either dangle from his corded waist or be held in his hands.

The Funko Forecast

Get ready for the Funko Forecast! This is where we’re going to be showcasing all of the cool new announcements and reveals from Funko! With all of the awesome that consistently seems to be flowing out of those guys, it shouldn’t be hard to keep this section alive each and every week!

Back To Hogwarts

Once again the team at Funko has decided to return to Hogwarts and bring collectors even more ‘Harry Potter’ brand merchandise! We’ve already got plenty of POP! vinyls, so this time around they’re bringing us some real world accessories to add some extra magic into our daily lives in the form of new POP! Keychains of Dumbledore, Snape, and a Dementor, as well as a series of POP! Pen Toppers! The new POP! Pen Toppers wave is Quidditch themed, and includes Harry, Ron, Draco, and Ginny all geared up and ready to play! These are due out in January and February of this year respectively.

A Tale As Old As Time

This year we’re getting a big budget live action retelling of Disney’s ‘Beauty & The Beast’, and what better way to celebrate what is sure to be a visually stunning film than with a new series of POP! Vinyls? The new ‘Beauty & The Beast’ line of POP! Vinyls from Funko consists of Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts (With Chip!), The Beast, and two versions of Belle (in a ‘Celebration’ outfit, as well as her iconic yellow ball gown). These are due out a bit closer to the film’s release this March!

New Funko Exclusives

As always, Funko has a few new exclusive POP! Vinyls hidden up their sleeves! So what better way to kick off the new year than to tease a few of them? This week we saw teasers for two new POP! Vinyl exclusives that you can look forward to later this year! First up is the new Disney Park’s exclusive Jolly Riger POP! Vinyl from the ‘Pirates Of The Caribbean’ ride! This was revealed on the Disney Parks Blog’s social media account earlier this week and teased to be hitting Disney parks soon according to PopVinyls. Additionally, Harry Potter fans fan be sure to head over to Amazon to pre-order their exclusive new ‘Invisible Demiguise’ POP! from ‘Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them’! This guys ships out in February but can be pre-ordered now.

And with that, we bring this week’s Toy News Tuesday to a close! What do you think about the new items announced this week? Do you plan on picking up anything we mentioned in this week’s column? Are there any lines or brands you’d like to see more coverage of? Let us know in the comments section below!

Jordan is a Toy Columnist & Staff Writer here at ScienceFiction! Journalist, Musician, Toy Collector, and Overall Awesome Guy! For more on Jordan’s thoughts, toys, and wacky adventures, be sure to follow him on Twitter and Instagram.

Jordan DesJardins

Jordan DesJardins is a writer from Philadelphia with a passion for the collectible! Jordan is ScienceFiction's resident Toy Columnist, covering news for the Toy Industry in our weekly column 'Toy News Tuesday', as well as interviews, convention coverage, product reviews, and more! As an avid collector of both Toys and Comics, Jordan can often be found at comic conventions, or scouring the city for the latest Minimates and Funko Pops to hit the shelves!